How did you get this far?

ljl

Something that happened a few months back has really been on my mind again lately. I have one friend at work that is also into cigars. I'd like to think I got him into it. We usually chat about what we've been smoking / looking to purchase / didn't like, about once a day. Somehow we never got together for a smoke. There was a company golf outing coming up so we decided to bring some smokes for after the round. He mentioned that he had never had a T52 or #9. I figured I'd hit him with one each as we were smoking. Once the round was over we started to sit down to enjoy a nice smoke. I tossed the ziplock with eh T52 and #9 at him. His response was along the lines of:"Awesome,thanks". I was thrilled when he got out the #9 and was getting ready to smoke it.

This is where it got weird. He takes out his trusty cutter and quickly and neatly cuts a bout 1/2" off the end of the cigar! Way past the cap! WTF! The way he did it let me know, he does this all the time. He then proceeds to lick down the chopped end (presumably so it won't unravel), and lights it up.

I talked to him about it a bit and showed him how I do it. He just nodded and went on like nobodies' business. I was thinking of giving him some smokes for X-mas, now I'm not to sure. Anybody else have a moment like this? Seriously; how did he get that into cigars and not know how to cut one?

robbyras

amazing... i let my local B&M cut my first few sticks... "Yeah, go ahead and cut that for me" like i'm all big nuts, but really I had no clue... so I let him cut them and I watched... So I learned without ever asking how... typical man thing to do...

that's crazy though

suneet21

haha I had a friend i tried getting into cigars a while back and he did the same thing - cut off too much in a weird way that the cigar started to unravel. I actually got annoyed and yelled at him a little. But I realize he was new to all this.

End of the day, there is always someone out there who knows more about cigars than we do and I appreciate it when they teach me. Just recently, my local B&M owner was showing me how to cut a robusto at a diagonal because it gives you more surface area to draw from without having to cut deeper into the cigar.

If you like to think you got him into cigars haha you better make sure you got him into it doing the right way. I suppose as long as he enjoys it, it's fine, but I wouldn't hand him out cigars.

t_evan50

The guy at the b&m I bought my first sticks at knew I was new to the hobbie so he just showed me how to cut one. Now the lighting was a lot of video watching and perfecting. I have a buddy that does the exact same thing when cutting. I've told him a dozen times not to cut it that much but it doesn't seem to phase him. He just doesn't worry himself with learning every aspect of an interest like I have to.

ljl

suneet21:

haha I had a friend i tried getting into cigars a while back and he did the same thing - cut off too much in a weird way that the cigar started to unravel. I actually got annoyed and yelled at him a little. But I realize he was new to all this. End of the day, there is always someone out there who knows more about cigars than we do and I appreciate it when they teach me. Just recently, my local B&M owner was showing me how to cut a robusto at a diagonal because it gives you more surface area to draw from without having to cut deeper into the cigar. If you like to think you got him into cigars haha you better make sure you got him into it doing the right way. I suppose as long as he enjoys it, it's fine, but I wouldn't hand him out cigars.

Good point about someone always knowing more (never thought of the diagonal cut myself, might have to give it a shot).

I also figured the same thing: If he enjoys it - what the heck. He couldn't have seemed less interested when I showed him what I considered "normal".

laker1963

That's painful to watch eh? Sort of like watching someone burn a T-bone steak to a crisp. Just a bloody horrible thing to have to witness.

I would likely say something to him in a manner that didn't piss him off or embarass him. I would say something like, "you know, I used to cut my cigars exactly like you do, but I found that a lot of them unwound and I ended up screwing up a really tasty stick. Now I only cut as much off as I need to find a good draw and I NEVER cut below the cap anymore and my problems have disappeared. How do you cut them like that without them unrolling"? That way he can get out of the situation without embarassing himself and he learns something at the same time, as saving face.

sol1821

hit him up with some youtube links about cigars, and cunningly include one about how to cut a cigar

lilwing88

ljl:

Something that happened a few months back has really been on my mind again lately. I have one friend at work that is also into cigars. I'd like to think I got him into it. We usually chat about what we've been smoking / looking to purchase / didn't like, about once a day. Somehow we never got together for a smoke. There was a company golf outing coming up so we decided to bring some smokes for after the round. He mentioned that he had never had a T52 or #9. I figured I'd hit him with one each as we were smoking. Once the round was over we started to sit down to enjoy a nice smoke. I tossed the ziplock with eh T52 and #9 at him. His response was along the lines of:"Awesome,thanks". I was thrilled when he got out the #9 and was getting ready to smoke it.

This is where it got weird. He takes out his trusty cutter and quickly and neatly cuts a bout 1/2" off the end of the cigar! Way past the cap! WTF! The way he did it let me know, he does this all the time. He then proceeds to lick down the chopped end (presumably so it won't unravel), and lights it up.

I talked to him about it a bit and showed him how I do it. He just nodded and went on like nobodies' business. I was thinking of giving him some smokes for X-mas, now I'm not to sure. Anybody else have a moment like this? Seriously; how did he get that into cigars and not know how to cut one?

Get him some smokes, for sure. just don't go overboard. Next time you get a chance to smoke with him, just nonchalantly mention that you notice his cigar unravels when he smokes. Then show him how you cut it so the wrapper stays more intact. If he still doesn't follow the advice and continues to smoke it the way he does, at least he's happy. So, who cares..... My father-in-law can't keep a cigar lit to save his life. His are constantly going out on him and he usually gives up on them too soon. Which is fine except for when he's smoking the Padron 26th I just cut for him. I've tried to give him a few pointers here and there about drawing and touching up an uneven burn, but sometimes he listens and sometimes he doesn't. I let it go. He's happy, that's all I care about.

Russ55

People who want to master things will seek out the information and do their best to master it. ie, everyone on this forum. Other people just don't care enough. They like the idea of a thing, in this case cigars, but not enough to put out any effort. My Dad is like this.

jsnake

The man just needs some education on cigars. I remember doing dumb stuff like that. I learned on my own and asked friends and family questions. Don't count him out since he doesn't smoke like you do. To each their own as long as he isn't sucking on the thing and making you feel sick. Buy him a little something and next time you get to smoke together offer to cut the cigar for him and ask him to try it out your way.

LeftFive

Russ55:

People who want to master things will seek out the information and do their best to master it. ie, everyone on this forum. Other people just don't care enough. They like the idea of a thing, in this case cigars, but not enough to put out any effort. My Dad is like this.

This.
It's the guy who buys a beautiful vintage muscle car and drives it into the ground without learning about or working on it.

Alternately, maybe he was just self-conscious about being 'taught' something, pride is a touchy thing.
For Christmas, give him some torpedoes that can take his zealous cutting technique!

asolomon

LeftFive:

Russ55:

People who want to master things will seek out the information and do their best to master it. ie, everyone on this forum. Other people just don't care enough. They like the idea of a thing, in this case cigars, but not enough to put out any effort. My Dad is like this.

This.
It's the guy who buys a beautiful vintage muscle car and drives it into the ground without learning about or working on it.

Alternately, maybe he was just self-conscious about being 'taught' something, pride is a touchy thing.
For Christmas, give him some torpedoes that can take his zealous cutting technique!

I really don't think that's accurate. Smoking cigars and buying some big expensive car are hardly analogous. If you buy a ton of cigars and a big walk-in humi and really go all out, sure, you can draw that comparison, but some people enjoy cigars more casually than the folks on CCOM do. I'm sure (I hope) all of us have hobbies and things we enjoy to a lesser extent than we do cigars, and we wouldn't go on a message board and learn every single thing about those hobbies (at least not right away), and then there are plenty of people who treat cigar smoking in a similar way, either because they're relatively new (like this guy's friend) or because it's just lower on their list of hobbies. And that's fine, and they aren't less worthy of a good smoke because of it.

You were going to buy this guy some cigars for xmas and then decided not to because he never learned the right way to cut one? That's pretty harsh, man. So he didn't respond when you taught him the right way to do it; maybe he was self-conscious or even embarassed about doing it wrong, maybe he was taking it in but just didn't want to respond, you have no idea. Maybe you just weren't explaining it well or motivating it well; it's very probable that he just didn't realize why it's important to cut a cigar the right way when his way was working for him.. There are things we all do now which we take for granted but never did ourselves in the first weeks/months/years of cigar smoking, and they look ridiculous in other people now because we've lost hindsight. Who are we to judge?

Hays

asolomon:

LeftFive:

Russ55:

People who want to master things will seek out the information and do their best to master it. ie, everyone on this forum. Other people just don't care enough. They like the idea of a thing, in this case cigars, but not enough to put out any effort. My Dad is like this.

This.
It's the guy who buys a beautiful vintage muscle car and drives it into the ground without learning about or working on it.

Alternately, maybe he was just self-conscious about being 'taught' something, pride is a touchy thing.
For Christmas, give him some torpedoes that can take his zealous cutting technique!

I really don't think that's accurate. Smoking cigars and buying some big expensive car are hardly analogous. If you buy a ton of cigars and a big walk-in humi and really go all out, sure, you can draw that comparison, but some people enjoy cigars more casually than the folks on CCOM do. I'm sure (I hope) all of us have hobbies and things we enjoy to a lesser extent than we do cigars, and we wouldn't go on a message board and learn every single thing about those hobbies (at least not right away), and then there are plenty of people who treat cigar smoking in a similar way, either because they're relatively new (like this guy's friend) or because it's just lower on their list of hobbies. And that's fine, and they aren't less worthy of a good smoke because of it.

You were going to buy this guy some cigars for xmas and then decided not to because he never learned the right way to cut one? That's pretty harsh, man. So he didn't respond when you taught him the right way to do it; maybe he was self-conscious or even embarassed about doing it wrong, maybe he was taking it in but just didn't want to respond, you have no idea. Maybe you just weren't explaining it well or motivating it well; it's very probable that he just didn't realize why it's important to cut a cigar the right way when his way was working for him.. There are things we all do now which we take for granted but never did ourselves in the first weeks/months/years of cigar smoking, and they look ridiculous in other people now because we've lost hindsight. Who are we to judge?

Exceedingly well-said.

Garen B

Just tell the guy you learned an easy trick to cut a stick from here, open your cutter and lay it flat on a table, stick the end of the cigar in and cut. No measuring required.

I used to eyeball it and had a few unravel on me, did a bit of searching on these forums and did the above method until I was comfortable to eyeball it again. If you can pass it off as a learning experience for both of you (even though you don't need it) he can save face and start learning how to cut correctly.

Hayblet

or you can get the Cuban Crafter's perfect cutter and achieve the same thing comes with a lifetime warrenty

gmill880

Hays:

asolomon:

LeftFive:

Russ55:

People who want to master things will seek out the information and do their best to master it. ie, everyone on this forum. Other people just don't care enough. They like the idea of a thing, in this case cigars, but not enough to put out any effort. My Dad is like this.

This.
It's the guy who buys a beautiful vintage muscle car and drives it into the ground without learning about or working on it.

Alternately, maybe he was just self-conscious about being 'taught' something, pride is a touchy thing.
For Christmas, give him some torpedoes that can take his zealous cutting technique!

I really don't think that's accurate. Smoking cigars and buying some big expensive car are hardly analogous. If you buy a ton of cigars and a big walk-in humi and really go all out, sure, you can draw that comparison, but some people enjoy cigars more casually than the folks on CCOM do. I'm sure (I hope) all of us have hobbies and things we enjoy to a lesser extent than we do cigars, and we wouldn't go on a message board and learn every single thing about those hobbies (at least not right away), and then there are plenty of people who treat cigar smoking in a similar way, either because they're relatively new (like this guy's friend) or because it's just lower on their list of hobbies. And that's fine, and they aren't less worthy of a good smoke because of it.

You were going to buy this guy some cigars for xmas and then decided not to because he never learned the right way to cut one? That's pretty harsh, man. So he didn't respond when you taught him the right way to do it; maybe he was self-conscious or even embarassed about doing it wrong, maybe he was taking it in but just didn't want to respond, you have no idea. Maybe you just weren't explaining it well or motivating it well; it's very probable that he just didn't realize why it's important to cut a cigar the right way when his way was working for him.. There are things we all do now which we take for granted but never did ourselves in the first weeks/months/years of cigar smoking, and they look ridiculous in other people now because we've lost hindsight. Who are we to judge?

Exceedingly well-said.

Plus 1

docedwards

laker1963:

That's painful to watch eh? Sort of like watching someone burn a T-bone steak to a crisp. Just a bloody horrible thing to have to witness.

I would likely say something to him in a manner that didn't piss him off or embarass him. I would say something like, "you know, I used to cut my cigars exactly like you do, but I found that a lot of them unwound and I ended up screwing up a really tasty stick. Now I only cut as much off as I need to find a good draw and I NEVER cut below the cap anymore and my problems have disappeared. How do you cut them like that without them unrolling"? That way he can get out of the situation without embarassing himself and he learns something at the same time, as saving face.

'Watching someone burn a T-bone steak to a crisp is a bloody horrible thing to have to witness.' Now that's funny. lol

gmill880

docedwards:

laker1963:

That's painful to watch eh? Sort of like watching someone burn a T-bone steak to a crisp. Just a bloody horrible thing to have to witness.

I would likely say something to him in a manner that didn't piss him off or embarass him. I would say something like, "you know, I used to cut my cigars exactly like you do, but I found that a lot of them unwound and I ended up screwing up a really tasty stick. Now I only cut as much off as I need to find a good draw and I NEVER cut below the cap anymore and my problems have disappeared. How do you cut them like that without them unrolling"? That way he can get out of the situation without embarassing himself and he learns something at the same time, as saving face.

'Watching someone burn a T-bone steak to a crisp is a bloody horrible thing to have to witness.' Now that's funny. lol

I think I have actually heard "Taps" playing in my mind as I watch my wife happily sashay away from the grill with a steak that I have "nuked" for her -completely devoid of all flavor in my opinion- but hey, thats what makes her happy - me , I'm a medium to medium rare guy myself.

The Sniper

laker1963:

I would likely say something to him in a manner that didn't piss him off or embarass him. I would say something like, "you know, I used to cut my cigars exactly like you do, but I found that a lot of them unwound and I ended up screwing up a really tasty stick. Now I only cut as much off as I need to find a good draw and I NEVER cut below the cap anymore and my problems have disappeared. How do you cut them like that without them unrolling"? That way he can get out of the situation without embarassing himself and he learns something at the same time, as saving face.

Laker my friend, you are a TRUE statesman for the nation of cigar cutters! No sarcasm at all, true respect.

As to the problem at hand, if Laker's advice doesn't work, I would say give him the cigars for Xmas... along with a V-cutter. They are pretty well foolproof - problem solved.

Tough stuff to watch I know. Watching cigars be abused this way is the sort of thing that started The Crusades if I remember my history lessons correctly... LOL

LeftFive

asolomon:

LeftFive:

Russ55:

People who want to master things will seek out the information and do their best to master it. ie, everyone on this forum. Other people just don't care enough. They like the idea of a thing, in this case cigars, but not enough to put out any effort. My Dad is like this.

This.
It's the guy who buys a beautiful vintage muscle car and drives it into the ground without learning about or working on it.

Alternately, maybe he was just self-conscious about being 'taught' something, pride is a touchy thing.
For Christmas, give him some torpedoes that can take his zealous cutting technique!

I really don't think that's accurate. Smoking cigars and buying some big expensive car are hardly analogous. If you buy a ton of cigars and a big walk-in humi and really go all out, sure, you can draw that comparison, but some people enjoy cigars more casually than the folks on CCOM do. I'm sure (I hope) all of us have hobbies and things we enjoy to a lesser extent than we do cigars, and we wouldn't go on a message board and learn every single thing about those hobbies (at least not right away), and then there are plenty of people who treat cigar smoking in a similar way, either because they're relatively new (like this guy's friend) or because it's just lower on their list of hobbies. And that's fine, and they aren't less worthy of a good smoke because of it.

You were going to buy this guy some cigars for xmas and then decided not to because he never learned the right way to cut one? That's pretty harsh, man. So he didn't respond when you taught him the right way to do it; maybe he was self-conscious or even embarassed about doing it wrong, maybe he was taking it in but just didn't want to respond, you have no idea. Maybe you just weren't explaining it well or motivating it well; it's very probable that he just didn't realize why it's important to cut a cigar the right way when his way was working for him.. There are things we all do now which we take for granted but never did ourselves in the first weeks/months/years of cigar smoking, and they look ridiculous in other people now because we've lost hindsight. Who are we to judge?

I only used the car metaphor as an example of something that's supremely holy to some, and a casual interest to others. I'm making assumptions, but if you've always lived in the UK, you might not share many American's near sexual love and pride in big, fast, loud machines that can be bought for relatively little money and deserve to be pampered like a pregnant wife.

I was also being serious about pride; I'm fully aware of the neurosis I attach to my hobbies, and routinely hold my tongue when I see someone plunking a big ice cube into a glass of expensive single-malt or springing for a water-cooled computer and never overclocking it.
As long as we're sharing a similar enjoyment of something, all's well.

I fully agree with what you said, but I try to distill my cacophony of thought as succinctly as possible. Sometimes it just ends up being white lightning.

havanaal

Something similar happened to me last weekend. A good friend of my wife's has a husband who supposedly likes high end cigars, at least according to his wife she gets him high priced boxes for his birthday and Christmas, etc. So the 4 of us got together last Saturday and I brought two San Miguels (left over from a CCDD). The guys cuts it fine, lights it up fine, but as the ash elongates more than 3 mm's HE BRUSHES OFF THE ASH WITH HIS FINGERS! He did this all the way down, until the wrapper was totally macerated. Never saw such a thing in my life. Weird.

kuzi16

havanaal:

Something similar happened to me last weekend. A good friend of my wife's has a husband who supposedly likes high end cigars, at least according to his wife she gets him high priced boxes for his birthday and Christmas, etc. So the 4 of us got together last Saturday and I brought two San Miguels (left over from a CCDD). The guys cuts it fine, lights it up fine, but as the ash elongates more than 3 mm's HE BRUSHES OFF THE ASH WITH HIS FINGERS! He did this all the way down, until the wrapper was totally macerated. Never saw such a thing in my life. Weird.

my father in law will knock the ash off of a cigar after every puff. its strange. im not sure if he has learned that the ash is a good thing yet.
that or he doesnt care. whatever. im not here to judge. im here to smoke.

get it.

ejenne87

Garen B:

Just tell the guy you learned an easy trick to cut a stick from here, open your cutter and lay it flat on a table, stick the end of the cigar in and cut. No measuring required.

This is exactly how I do it with my friends that are new to cigars.

One thing you could do for a gift, on top of a cigar or two if you wanted, is buy him one of those "perfect cut" cutters that I think cuban crafters sells that way he cant cut too much off!

kaspera79

kuzi16:

havanaal:

Something similar happened to me last weekend. A good friend of my wife's has a husband who supposedly likes high end cigars, at least according to his wife she gets him high priced boxes for his birthday and Christmas, etc. So the 4 of us got together last Saturday and I brought two San Miguels (left over from a CCDD). The guys cuts it fine, lights it up fine, but as the ash elongates more than 3 mm's HE BRUSHES OFF THE ASH WITH HIS FINGERS! He did this all the way down, until the wrapper was totally macerated. Never saw such a thing in my life. Weird.

my father in law will knock the ash off of a cigar after every puff. its strange. im not sure if he has learned that the ash is a good thing yet.
that or he doesnt care. whatever. im not here to judge. im here to smoke.

get it.

Could it be a habit from previously smoking cigarettes. I did that for a while when I was converting. Sort of a nervous tic.

JCizzle

What a great thread! Two nights ago I shared a La Cuna Habano torpedo with a co-worker who was "into cigars." I cut it for him and everything, and he was kind of like "yeah, I know" about everything I said. Anyway, we're smoking and he's inhaling the damn thing like a cigarette (this guy is a chain smoker). I said "I don't really care what you do, but these aren't really meant to be inhaled." I also explained to him to let the stick ash itself naturally, and of course he replied "oh, I know man." Minutes later he's flicking the ash off like a cigarette. Do I care what he does? No. Will I share anymore cigars with him? Not a chance.

I'm the first to admit that I have hobbies that I'm snobbish about and I judge people when they don't "do it the right way." However, it's not enough to make me care all that much, or to detract enjoyment from my hobbies.